Insole-blank and method of preparing it.



A. E EOHNSON. INSOLE BLANK AND METHOD OF PREPARlNG IT.

APPLlCATlOH FILED l\UG.7.1914-- Patented Jan. 16, 1917 mlmm Imam 7" ward under the rear ends of ALBERT E. JOHNSQIE, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB 'IO TINITED SHUI'E MACHINERY COLVIPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A G'QRTPORATION OF INE'W' JERSEY.

INSOLE-BLANK AND METHOD OF PREPARING- ll'l.

LZEQAQQ.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented Jan. lid, jig-1'27,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT E. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insole-Blanks and Methods of Preparing Them; and I do hereby declare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the preparation of insole blanks, and more particularly-to such blanks used in the manufacture of waited boots and shoes.

Boots and shoes as commercially manufactured employ a shaped counter or stiflening piece of sole leather, shaved thin at the edge, in the back part of the shoe, within the upper, to support the outer leather and prevent the shoe from runnin over.? In welt shoes the size and length oi the counter is such that, when lasted in,-it extends for the welt. Orrily the welt extends rearwardly to scout the breast line of the insole and the counter extends forwardly a considerable distance beyond this line, resulting in these two parts overlapping each other from live ths of an inch to an inch and a quarter. insoles for high shoes, known liars or solids from the fact that iorcing material is used in making titted with an edge slit forming a lip feather, or with an outer shoulder in womens work, and with a parallel slit the edge slit .rming a channel and chaos l flap. The rtion between these two slits is the betw i-substance. Sometimes the flap inside the between-substance is omitte {These pe -its form the rib to which the upper and welt are stitched. in the inseaming operation. Heretofore these cuts, of whatever form they may be, have been started and 'te mated at about the breast line of the ins and after the insole has been fitted in this manner the lip, in 111811 8 w r r, is turned and laid over upon the betweensubstance substantially as shown in Fig. 28' of in prior Patent No. 638,394. dated December 5, 1899. When the outsole is laid, before the heel is secured to the shoe, there is, at each side of the heel seat beneath the outsole for a short distance back of the breast line of the heel a substantial protuberance formed by the overlying layers of the lip, counter and welt. This is disadvanta eous in that it prevents nailing the heel on level and mars the appearance of the finished shoe at the shank for reasons which will presently be explained.

The object of the present invention is to.

shoes at present, on which much more care is bestowed in the making.

In accordance with this object, the invention contemplates fitting the insole blank in a manner to permit the counter and upper to be lasted in, and the welt end to be. brought down, to substantially the level of the heel seat. The preferred manner of fitting the insole blank to attain this result is to entirely remove that portion of the lip which otherwise would be below the ends of the counter and welt, leaving at this point only the outside shoulder of the betweensubstance as a striking surface or abutment for the needle of the Welter in performing the inseam sewing operation. A recess is thus provided at each side of the shank which enables a closer lasting down of the counter and upper, and provides for the reception of the beveled or butted welt end. An especial advantage of this recess is that it permits the welt to be drawn in and lie straight along the shank. If not well lasted in, the inseam at this point isnecessarily sewed full with the resulting diiiiculty that when the outsole is trimmed the outseam is out into by the trimming knife. As a result or" this novel fitting a level heel seat is obtained and the lines of the welt and outsolc blank for welt shoes; Fig. 2 is side elevation of the insole blank shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is an insole blank prepared in accordance with the present invention having on its flesh side the lip 2 and feather 3 produced by theedge slit and the flap 5 and channel beneath it produced by the face slit '6. The between-substance is indicated by the space between the parallel dotted lines 7 in Fig. 1, and varies in Width from in womens work to in mens Work. The face slit 6 starts and terminates at substantially the breast line of the insole, as shown best by Fig. 1, but the edge slit 5 starts and terminates some distance in advance of the breast line as indicated at 8.

The shaded portions at each side of the heel seat 9 (Fig. 1) represent recesses 10 of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the lip 2, of a width substantially equal to the width of the feather. and extending longitudinally substantially from the insole breast line, at their rear ends to a point opposite the ends of the counter at their forward ends. Thus there is no lip 2 along the outer edge of the between-substance? where the recesses lO are formed, the striking surface for the needle of the inseam sewing machine being provided for by the shoulders 11 which form the inner walls of the recesses. The recesses 10, as indicated above, are so disposed that in the lasting operation the forward portions of the sides of the counter will be received therein and after the inseaming operation the skived ends of the welt will lay thereover. Remembering that there is no portion of the lip set over upon the between-substance adjacent the recesses it will be understood that these recesses effectually take care of the ends of the counter and welt in the manner described gaining all of the advantages in the making and appearance of the shoe heretofore explained as being desirable.

In preparing the insole blank it is imma terial when the recesses 10 are formed but for reasons hereinafter set forth it is preferred to cut the recesses before producing the stitch receiving rib. With some insole channeling machines difficulty is' experienced in cutting-in at the breast line with the edge knife which produces the lip 2 and feather 3. It has been the practice for many years to run in' and out across the heel seat, as is illustrated in Fig. ,2 of patent to Webb No. 1,060,300, April 29, 1913, but such practice cuts into and weakens the heel seat which should be kept as strong as possible for the reception of the heel nails. It; is therefore, preferable to cut the recesses 10 in the unchanneled insole blank so that the edge knife of the channeling machine may,

at the beginningof the channeling operation, rest in the recess at the starting side of the blank and commence the slit 4 by cutting in at the base of the shoulder 8 in the plane of the bottom of the recess. In finishing the channeling operation at the opposite side of the insole the edge knife may readily be raised from its operating position when it reaches a position in the recess. It will be obvious, howey'er, to those skilled in the art that the recesses 10 may be formed by cutting away the lip 2 for the desired distance after this lip has been formed in the channeling operation. The essential feature, it will be observed, is the production in the finished sole of provision for receiving the ends of the counter and welt to gain the advantages already adverted to irrespective of the order in which the steps are taken.

lVhile the description of the invention for ease of explanation, has been directed especially to its application to a particularly described type of insole, it Will be obvious to those skilled in the art that its utility is not confined to that type of insole alone.

Having thus described the novel insole blank of the present invention and the method by which it may be prepared, What is claimed as new, is

1. An insole blank for boots and shoes having an elongated unlipped recess in its flesh side located at each side of the shank adjacent the breast line and having a length less than the length of the shank to receive the ends of the counter and welt.

2. An insole blank for boots and shoes having an unlipped recess in its flesh side .located at each side of the shank, the rear end of the recess being located adjacent the breast line, and the forward end lying wholly Within the shank portion to receive the ends of the counter and welt, and of a width substantially equal to the width of the desired feather at this point. 1

3. An insole blank for boots and shoes having a stitch receiving rib comprising a between-substance extending throughout the shank and forepart, a channel along the en tire inner edge of the between-substance, a lip along the greater portion of the outer edge of the between-substance, and a shoulder along the remaining portion of the outer.

for boots and shoes which comprises chair rvspmidihg to the lip Twin suhst:.ntin]ly the breast line of the insole l' mwvzu'd (in both shims 01 the shank to form :1 recess for the iwvpiion of the minis of the counter and welt.

(1. The method of preparing insole blanks for boots and shows which (-onsists in cutting an elongated revesa in its flesh side located at uzich side of the shank in position i0 re in waive the endsof the counter and welt, and

tending from thv i'm-Wuu! 0nd of one recess 35 

